

Chapter1

EarlySocieties

Inthissection,wewillreadabouttwothemesrelatingtoearlysocieties.Thefirst

isaboutthebeginningsofhumanexistence,fromtheremotepast,millionsofyears

ago.YouwilllearnhowhumansfirstemergedinAfricaandhowarchaeologists

havestudiedtheseearlyphasesofhistoryfromremainsofbonesandstonetools.

Archaeologistshave made attempts to reconstruct the livesof early people –to

findoutaboutthesheltersinwhichtheylived,thefoodtheyatebygatheringplant

produce andhuntinganimals,and the waysinwhich theyexpressedthemselves.

Otherimportantdevelopmentsincludetheuseoffireandoflanguage.And,finally,

youwillseewhetherthelivesofpeoplewholivebyhuntingandgatheringtoday

canhelpustounderstandthepast.

Thesecondthemedealswithsomeoftheearliestcities–thoseofMesopotamia,

present-day Iraq. These cities developed around temples, and were centres of

long-distancetrade.Archaeologicalevidence–remainsofoldsettlements–and

anabundanceofwrittenmaterialareusedtoreconstructthelivesofthedifferent

people who lived there – craftspeople, scribes, labourers, priests, kings and

queens.Youwillnoticehowpastoralpeopleplayedanimportantroleinsomeof

thesetowns.Aquestiontothinkaboutiswhetherthemanyactivitiesthatwenton

incitieswouldhavebeenpossibleifwritinghadnotdeveloped.

Youmaywonderastohowpeoplewhoformillionsofyearshadlivedinforests,

in caves or temporary shelters began to eventually live in villages and cities.

Well,thestoryisalongoneandisrelatedtoseveraldevelopmentsthattookplace

atleast5,000yearsbeforetheestablishmentofthefirstcities.

Oneofthemostfar-reachingchangeswasthegradualshiftfromnomadiclifeto

settled agriculture, which began around 10,000 years ago. As you will see in

Theme1,priortotheadoptionofagriculture,peoplehadgatheredplantproduce

as a source of food. Slowly, they learnt more about different kinds of plants –

wheretheygrew,theseasonswhentheyborefruitandsoon.Fromthis,theylearnt

togrowplants.InWestAsia,wheatandbarley,peasandvariouskindsofpulses

weregrown. In East andSoutheast Asia, the cropsthatgreweasily were millet

andrice.MilletwasalsogrowninAfrica.Aroundthesametime,peoplelearnt

how to domesticate animals such as sheep, goat, cattle, pig and donkey. Plant

fibressuchascottonandflax,andanimalfibressuchaswoolwerenowwoven

intocloth.Somewhatlater,about5,000yearsago,domesticatedanimalssuchas

cattleanddonkeyswereharnessedtoploughsandcarts.

Thesedevelopmentsledtootherchangesaswell.Whenpeoplegrewcrops,they

hadtostayinthesameplacetillthecropsripened.So,settledlifebecamemore

common.Andwiththat,peoplebuiltmorepermanentstructuresinwhichtolive.

Thiswasalsothetimewhensomecommunitieslearnthowtomakeearthenpots.

These were used to store grain and other produce, and to prepare and cook a

variety of foods made from the new grains that werecultivated.In fact, a great

dealofattentionwasgiventoprocessingfoodstomakethemtastyanddigestible.

Theway stonetoolsweremadealsochanged.Whileearliermethods of making

toolscontinued,sometoolsandequipmentwerenowsmoothenedandpolishedby

anelaborateprocessofgrinding.Newequipmentincludedmortarsandpestlesfor

preparinggrain,aswellasstoneaxesandhoes,whichwereusedtoclearlandfor

cultivation,aswellasfordiggingtheearthtosowseeds.

In some areas, people learnt to tap the ores of metals such as copper and tin.

Sometimes,copperoreswerecollectedandusedfortheirdistinctivebluish-green

colour.Thispreparedthewayforthemoreextensiveuseofmetalforjewellery

andfortoolssubsequently.

There was also a growing familiarity with other kinds of produce from distant

lands (and seas). This included wood, stones, including precious and semi-

precious stones, metals and shell, and hardened volcanic lava. Clearly, people

weregoingfromplacetoplace,carryinggoodsandideaswiththem.

With increasing trade, the growth of villages and towns, and the movements of

people,inplaceofthesmallcommunitiesofearlypeopletherenowgrewsmall

states. While these changestook place slowly, over several thousand years, the

pace quickened with the growth of the first cities. Also, the changes had far-

reachingconsequences.Somescholarshavedescribedthisasarevolution,asthe

lives of people were probably transformed beyond recognition. Look out for

continuities and changes as you explore these two contrasting themes in early

history.

Remembertoo,thatwehaveselectedonlysomeexamplesofearlysocietiesfor

detailed study. There were other kinds of early societies, including farming

communities and pastoral peoples. And there were other peoples who were

hunter-gatherersaswellascitydwellers,apartfromtheexamplesselected.

TimelineI

(6MYAto1BCE)

HowtoReadTimelines

Youwillfindatimelinelikethisoneineverysection.

Eachofthesewillindicatesomeofthemajorprocessesandeventsinworldhistory.

Asyoustudythetimelines,remember—

•Processesthroughwhichordinarywomen andmen haveshapedhistory arefarmore difficulttodate

thaneventssuchasawarbetweenkings.

•Somedatesmayindicatethebeginningofaprocess,orwhenitreachesmaturation.

•Historiansareconstantlyrevisingdatesinthelightofnewevidence,ornewwaysofassessingolddata.

•Whilewehavedividedthetimelinesonageographicalbasisasamatterofconvenience,actualhistorical

developmentsoftentranscendthesedivisions.

•Also,thereisachronologicaloverlapinhistoricalprocesses.

•Onlysomelandmarksinhumanhistoryhavebeenshownhere–wehavehighlightedtheprocessesdealt

withinthethemesthatfollow,whichalsohaveseparatetimelines.

•Whereveryouseea*,youwillalsofindanillustrationrelatedtothedatealongthecolumn.

•Blankspacesdonotmeanthatnothingwashappening–sometimestheseindicatethatwedonotasyet

knowwhatwashappening.

•YouwillbelearningmoreaboutSouthAsianhistoryingeneralandIndianhistoryinparticularnextyear.

ThedatesselectedforSouthAsiaareonlyindicativeofsomeofthedevelopmentsinthesubcontinent.

Thistimelinefocusesontheemergenceofhumansandthedomesticationofplants

andanimals.Ithighlightssomemajortechnologicaldevelopmentssuchastheuse

offire,metals,ploughagricultureandthewheel.Otherprocessesthatareshown

includetheemergenceofcitiesandtheuseofwriting.Youwillalsofindmention

ofsomeoftheearliestempires–athemethatwillbedevelopedinTimelineII.

Theme1

FROMTHEBEGINNINGOFTIME

Thischaptertracesthebeginningofhumanexistence.Itwas5.6millionyearsago

(written as mya) that the first human-like creatures appeared on the earth’s

surface. After this, several forms of humans emerged and then became extinct.

Human beings resembling us (henceforth referred to as ‘modern humans’)

originated about 160,000 years ago. During this long period of human history,

peopleobtainedfoodbyeitherscavengingorhuntinganimalsandgatheringplant

produce.Theyalsolearnthowtomakestonetoolsandtocommunicatewitheach

other.

Although other ways of obtaining food were adopted later, hunting-gathering

continued. Even today there are hunter-gatherer societies in some parts of the

world. This makes us wonder whether the lifestyles of present-day hunter-

gathererscantellusanythingaboutthepast.

Fossilsaretheremainsorimpressionsofaveryoldplant,animalorhuman

whichhaveturnedintostone.Theseareoftenembeddedinrock,andarethus

preservedformillionsofyears.

Species isagroup of organismsthatcan breedto produce fertileoffspring.

Membersofonespeciescannotmatewiththoseofotherspeciestoproduce

fertileoffspring.

Discoveriesofhumanfossils,stonetoolsandcavepaintingshelpustounderstand

earlyhumanhistory.Eachofthesediscoverieshasahistoryofitsown.Veryoften,

whensuchfindswerefirstmade,mostscholarsrefusedtoacceptthatthesefossils

weretheremainsofearlyhumans.Theywerealsoscepticalabouttheabilityof

earlyhumanstomakestonetoolsorpaint.Itwasonlyoveraperiodoftimethat

thetruesignificanceofthesefindswasrealised.

Theevidenceforhumanevolutioncomesfromfossilsofspeciesofhumanswhich

havebecomeextinct.Fossilscanbedatedeitherthroughdirectchemicalanalysis

or indirectly by dating the sediments in which they areburied.Oncefossilsare

dated,asequenceofhumanevolutioncanbeworkedout.

Whensuchdiscoverieswerefirstmade,about200yearsago,manyscholarswere

often reluctant to accept that fossils and other finds including stone tools and

paintings were actually connected with early forms of humans. This reluctance

generallystemmedfromtheirbeliefintheOldTestamentoftheBible,according

towhichhumanoriginwasregardedasanactofCreationbyGod.

Forinstance,inAugust1856,workmenwhowerequarryingforlimestoneinthe

Neandervalley(seeMap2,p.18),agorgeneartheGermancityofDusseldorf,

found a skull and some skeletal fragments. These were handed over to Carl

Fuhlrott,alocalschoolmasterandnaturalhistorian,whorealisedthattheydidnot

belongtoamodernhuman.Hethenmadeaplastercastoftheskullandsentitto

HermanSchaaffhausen,aprofessorofanatomyatBonnUniversity.Thefollowing

yeartheyjointlypublishedapaper,claimingthatthisskullrepresentedaformof

humanthatwasextinct.Atthattime,scholarsdidnotacceptthisviewandinstead

declaredthattheskullbelongedtoapersonofmorerecenttimes.

Recoveringfossils

Apainstakingprocess.Thepreciselocationoffindsisimportantfordating.

Shows the equipment used to record the location of finds. The square frame to the left of the

archaeologist is a grid divided into 10 cm squares. Placing it over the find spot helps to record the

horizontalpositionofthefind.Thetriangularapparatustotherightisusedtorecordtheverticalposition.

Showshowafossilfragmentisrecoveredfromthesurroundingstone,inthiscaseavarietyoflimestone,

inwhichitisembedded.Asyoucansee,thisrequiresskillandpatience.

24 November 1859, when Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species was

published,markedalandmark inthe studyofevolution.All1,250copiesofthe

first print weresold outthesame day. Darwin argued thathumans hadevolved

fromanimalsalongtimeago.

ACTIVITY1

Most religions have stories about the creation of human beings

which often do not correspond with scientific discoveries. Find

out about some of these and compare them with the history of

humanevolutionasdiscussedinthischapter.

TheskullofNeanderthalman.Someofthosewhodismissedtheantiquityoftheskullregardedit

as‘brutish’orthatofa‘pathologicalidiot’.

TheStoryofHumanEvolution

(a)ThePrecursorsofModernHumanBeings

Lookatthesefourskulls.

Abelongstoanape.

BbelongstoaspeciesknownasAustralopithecus(seebelow).

CbelongstoaspeciesknownasHomoerectus(literally‘uprightman’).

Dbelongstoa speciesknownasHomosapiens (literally ‘thinking/wiseman’}to whichallpresent-day

humanbeingsbelong.

List as many similarities and differences that you notice, looking carefully at the brain case, jaws and

teeth.

Thedifferencesthatyounoticeintheskullsshownintheillustrationaresomeof

thechangesthat came about as a result of human evolution. Thestory of human

evolution is enormously long, and somewhat complicated. There are also many

unansweredquestions,andnewdataoftenleadtoarevisionandmodificationof

earlier understandings. Let us look at some of the developments and their

implicationsmoreclosely.

It is possible to trace these developments back to between 36 and 24 mya. We

sometimes find it difficult to conceptualise such long spans of time. If you

considerapage of yourbook torepresent 10,000years,initself avast span of

time, 10pages would represent100,000 years, and a 100pageswould equal 1

millionyears.

Tothinkof36millionyears,youwouldhavetoimagineabook3,600pageslong!

That was when primates, a category of mammals, emerged in Asia and Africa.

Subsequently, by about 24 mya, there emerged a subgroup amongst primates,

called hominoids. This included apes. And, much later, about 5.6 mya, we find

evidenceofthefirsthominids.

Primates are a subgroup of a larger group of mammals. They include monkeys,

apes and humans. They have body hair, a relatively long gestation period

following birth, mammary glands, different types of teeth, and the ability to

maintainaconstantbodytemperature.

Whilehominidshaveevolvedfromhominoidsandsharecertaincommonfeatures,

there are major differences as well. Hominoids have a smaller brain than

hominids.Theyarequadrupeds,walkingonallfours,butwithflexibleforelimbs.

Hominids,bycontrast,haveanuprightpostureandbipedallocomotion(walking

on two feet). There are also marked differences in the hand, which enables the

making and use of tools. We will examine the kinds of tools made and their

significancemorecloselylater.

TwolinesofevidencesuggestanAfricanoriginforhominids.First,itisthegroup

of African apes that are most closely related to hominids. Second, the earliest

hominidfossils,whichbelongtothegenusAustralopithecus,havebeenfoundin

East Africa and date back to about 5.6 mya. In contrast, fossils found outside

Africaarenoolderthan1.8millionyears.

Theevolutionofthehand

Ashowstheprecisiongripofthechimpanzee.

Bshowsthepowergripofthehumanhand.

Cshowstheprecisiongripofthehominid.

Thedevelopmentofthepowergripprobablyprecededtheprecisiongrip.

Comparetheprecisiongripofthechimpanzeewiththatofthehumanhand.

Makealistofthethingsyoudousingaprecisiongrip.

Whatarethethingsyoudousingapowergrip?

Hominids belong to a family known asHominidae, which includes allformsof

human beings. The distinctive characteristics of hominids include a large brain

size,uprightposture,bipedallocomotionandspecialisationofthehand.

Hominids are further subdivided into branches, known as genus, of which

AustralopithecusandHomoareimportant.Eachoftheseinturnincludesseveral

species. The major differences between Australopithecus and Homo relate to

brainsize,jawsandteeth.

Theformerhasasmallerbrainsize,heavierjawsandlargerteeththanthelatter.

VirtuallyallthenamesgivenbyscientiststospeciesarederivedfromLatinand

Greekwords.Forinstance,thenameAustralopithecuscomesfromaLatinword,

‘austral’, meaning ‘southern’ and a Greek word, ‘pithekos’, meaning ‘ape.’ The

namewasgivenbecausethisearliestformofhumansstillretainedmanyfeatures

ofanape,suchasarelativelysmallbrainsizeincomparisontoHomo,largeback

teeth and limiteddexterity of thehands.Upright walking was alsorestricted, as

theystillspentalotoftimeontrees.Theyretainedcharacteristics(suchaslong

forelimbs,curvedhandandfootbonesandmobileanklejoints)suitedtolifeon

trees.

Hominoids are different from monkeys in a number of ways. They have a

largerbodyanddonothaveatail.Besides,thereisalongerperiodofinfant

developmentanddependencyamongsthominoids.

ThisisaviewoftheOlduvaiGorgeintheRiftValley,EastAfrica(seeMap1b,p.14),oneoftheareas

fromwhichtracesofearlyhumanhistoryhavebeenrecovered.Noticethedifferentlevelsofearthatthe

centreofthephotograph.Eachoftheserepresentsadistinctgeologicalphase.

Over time, as tool making and long-distance walking increased, many human

characteristicsalsodeveloped.

TheDiscoveryofAustralopithecus,OlduvaiGorge,

July1959

The Olduvai Gorge (see p. 14) was first ‘discovered’ in the early twentieth century by a German

butterfly collector. However, Olduvai has come to be identified with Mary and Louis Leakey, who

workedhereforover40years.ItwasMaryLeakeywhodirectedarchaeologicalexcavationsatOlduvai

andLaetoliandshemadesomeofthemostexcitingdiscoveries.ThisiswhatLouisLeakeywroteabout

oneoftheirmostremarkablefinds:

‘That morning I woke with a headache and a slight fever. Reluctantly, I agreed to spend the day in

camp.Withoneofusoutofcommission,itwasevenmorevitalfortheothertocontinuethework,forour

precariousseven-weekseasonwasrunningout.SoMarydepartedforthediggingswithSallyandToots

[twooftheirdogs]intheLand-Rover[ajeep-likevehicle],andIsettledbacktoarestlessdayoff.

Some time later – perhaps I dozed off – I heard the Land-Rover coming up fast to camp. I had a

momentaryvisionofMarystungbyoneofourhundredsofresidentscorpionsorbittenbyasnakethat

hadslippedpastthedogs.

TheLand-Roverrattledtoastop,andIheardMary’svoicecallingoverandover:“I’vegothim!I’vegot

him!I’vegothim!”Stillgroggyfromtheheadache,Icouldn’tmakeherout.“Gotwhat?Areyouhurt?”

Iasked.“Him,theman!Ourman,”Marysaid.“Theonewe’vebeenlookingfor23years.Comequick,

I’vefoundhisteeth!”’

From‘FindingtheWorld’sEarliestMan’,byL.S.B.Leakey,NationalGeographic,118(September

1960).

Theremainsofearlyhumanshavebeenclassifiedintodifferentspecies.Theseare

oftendistinguishedfromoneanotheronthebasisofdifferencesinbonestructure.

Forinstance,speciesofearlyhumansaredifferentiatedintermsoftheirskullsize

and distinctive jaws (see illustration on p.10). These characteristics may have

evolvedduetowhathasbeencalledthepositivefeedbackmechanism.

Thepositivefeedbackmechanism

Thearrowspointingtowardsaboxindicatetheinfluencesthatshapedthatparticulardevelopment.

Thearrowspointingawayfromaboxindicatehowdevelopmentsmentionedintheboxinfluencedother

processes.

Forexample,bipedalismenabledhandstobefreedforcarryinginfantsorobjects.

In turn, as hands were used more and more, upright walking gradually became

moreefficient.Apartfromtheadvantageoffreeinghandsforvarioususes,farless

energyisconsumedwhilewalkingascomparedtothemovementofaquadruped.

However, the advantage in terms of saving energy is reversed while running.

Thereisindirectevidenceofbipedalismasearlyas3.6mya.Thiscomesfromthe

fossilisedhominidfootprintsatLaetoli,Tanzania(seeSectioncover).Fossillimb

bones recovered from Hadar, Ethiopia provide more direct evidence of

bipedalism.

Around 2.5 mya, with the onset of a phase of glaciation (or an Ice Age), when

large parts of the earth were covered with snow, there were major changes in

climateand vegetation. Duetothereduction intemperaturesaswellasrainfall,

grassland areas expanded at the expense of forests, leading to the gradual

extinctionoftheearlyformsofAustralopithecus(thatwereadaptedtoforests)and

the replacement by species that were better adapted to the drier conditions.

AmongtheseweretheearliestrepresentativesofthegenusHomo.

Homo is a Latin word, meaning ‘man’, although there were women as well!

ScientistsdistinguishamongstseveraltypesofHomo.Thenamesassignedtothese

species are derived from what are regarded as their typical characteristics. So

fossilsareclassifiedasHomohabilis(thetoolmaker),Homoerectus(theupright

man),andHomosapiens(thewiseorthinkingman).

FossilsofHomohabilishavebeendiscoveredatOmoinEthiopiaandatOlduvai

GorgeinTanzania.TheearliestfossilsofHomoerectushavebeenfoundbothin

AfricaandAsia:KoobiForaandwestTurkana,Kenya,ModjokertoandSangiran,

Java.AsthefindsinAsiabelongtoalaterdatethanthoseinAfrica,itislikely

that hominids migrated from East Africa to southern and northern Africa, to

southernandnorth-easternAsia,andperhapstoEurope,sometimebetween2and

1.5mya.Thisspeciessurvivedfornearlyamillionyears.

Map1(a):Africa

Map1(b):TheEastAfricanRiftValley

TheRiftValley,EastAfrica.

In some instances, the names for fossils are derived from the places where the

firstfossilsofaparticulartypewerefound.SofossilsfoundinHeidelberg,acity

inGermany,werecalledHomoheidelbergensis,whilethosefoundintheNeander

valley(seep.18)werecategorisedasHomoneanderthalensis.

The earliest fossils from Europe are of Homo heidelbergensis and Homo

neanderthalensis. Both belong to the species of archaic (that is, old) Homo

sapiens. The fossils of Homo heidelbergensis (0.8-0.1 mya) have a wide

distribution, having been found in Africa, Asia and Europe. The Neanderthals

occupiedEuropeandwesternand CentralAsiafrom roughly130,000to35,000

yearsago.TheydisappearedabruptlyinwesternEuropearound35,000yearsago.

Ingeneral,comparedwithAustralopithecus,Homohavealargerbrain,jawswith

a reduced outward protrusion and smaller teeth (see illustration on p. 10). An

increaseinbrainsize isassociatedwith moreintelligenceandabettermemory.

Thechangesinthejawsandteethwereprobablyrelatedtodifferencesindietary

habits.

ACTIVITY2

Plotthechangesindicatedinthechartaboveonanoutlinemapoftheworld.

Usedifferentcoloursforthefourtimebrackets.Listthecontinentswhereyou

use(a)asinglecolour,(b)twocolours,(c)morethantwocolours.

TheStoryofHumanEvolution

(b)ModernHumanBeings

If you look at this chart, you will notice that some of the earliest evidence for

HomosapienshasbeenfoundindifferentpartsofAfrica.Thisraisesthequestion

ofthecentreofhumanorigin.Wasthereasinglecentreorwerethereseveral?

Theissueoftheplaceoforiginofmodernhumanshasbeenmuchdebated.Two

totally divergent views have been expounded, one advocating the regional

continuity model (with multiple regions of origin), the other the replacement

model(withasingleorigininAfrica).

Accordingtotheregionalcontinuitymodel,thearchaicHomosapiensindifferent

regions gradually evolved at different rates into modern humans, and hence the

variationinthefirstappearanceofmodernhumansindifferentpartsoftheworld.

Theargumentisbasedontheregionaldifferencesinthe features of present-day

humans.Accordingtothosewhoadvocatethisview,thesedissimilaritiesaredue

todifferencesbetweenthepre-existingHomoerectusandHomoheidelbergensis

populationsthatoccupiedthesameregions.

TheReplacementandRegionalContinuityModels

The replacement model visualises the complete replacement everywhere of all

older forms of humans with modern humans. In support of this view is the

evidence of the genetic and anatomical homogeneity of modern humans. Those

whosuggestthisarguethattheenormoussimilarityamongstmodernhumansisdue

to their descent from a population that originated in a single region, which is

Africa. The evidence of the earliest fossils of modern humans (from Omo in

Ethiopia) also supports the replacement model. Scholars who hold this view

suggestthatthephysicaldifferencesobservedtodayamongmodernhumansarethe

result of adaptation (over a span of thousands of years) by populations who

migratedtotheparticularregionswheretheyfinallysettleddown.

EarlyHumans:WaysofObtainingFood

Sofar,wehavebeenconsideringtheevidenceofskeletalremainsandseeinghow

these have been used to reconstruct the histories of the movements of peoples

acrosscontinents.But,thereareother,moreroutineaspectsofhumanlifeaswell.

Letusseehowthesecanbestudied.

Early humans would have obtained food through a number of ways, such as

gathering, hunting, scavenging and fishing. Gathering would involve collecting

plant foods such as seeds, nuts, berries, fruits and tubers. That gathering was

practised is generally assumed rather than conclusively established, as there is

very little direct evidence for it. While we get a fair amount of fossil bones,

fossilised plant remains are relatively rare. The only other way of getting

informationaboutplantintakewouldbeifplantremainswereaccidentallyburnt.

Thisprocessresultsincarbonisation.Inthisform,organicmatterispreservedfor

alongspanoftime.However,sofararchaeologistshavenotfoundmuchevidence

ofcarbonisedseedsforthisveryearlyperiod.

In recent years, the term hunting has been under discussion by scholars.

Increasingly,itisbeingsuggestedthattheearlyhominidsscavengedorforaged*

formeatandmarrowfromthecarcassesofanimalsthathaddiednaturallyorhad

beenkilledbyotherpredators.Itisequallypossiblethatsmallmammalssuchas

rodents,birds(andtheireggs),reptilesandeveninsects(suchastermites)were

eatenbyearlyhominids.

*Foragingmeanstosearchforfood

Hunting probably began later – about 500,000 years ago. The earliest clear

evidenceforthedeliberate,plannedhuntingandbutcheryoflargemammalscomes

from two sites: Boxgrove in southern England (500,000 years ago) and

Schoningen in Germany (400,000 years ago) (see Map 2 ). Fishing was also

important,asisevidentfromthediscoveryoffishbonesatdifferentsites.

Map2:Europe

From about 35,000 years ago, there is evidence of planned hunting from some

Europeansites.Somesites,suchasDolniVestonice(intheCzechRepublic,see

Map2),whichwasnearariver,seemtohavebeendeliberatelychosenbyearly

people.Herdsofmigratoryanimalssuchasreindeerandhorseprobablycrossed

the river during their autumn and spring migrations and were killed on a large

scale.Thechoiceofsuchsitesindicatesthatpeopleknewaboutthemovementof

these animals and also about the means of killing large numbers of animals

quickly.

Did men and women have different roles in gathering, scavenging, hunting and

fishing?Wedonotreallyknow.Todaywefindsocietiesthatlivebyhuntingand

gathering,wherewomenandmenundertakearangeofdifferentactivities,but,as

wewillseelaterinthechapter,itisnotalwayspossibletosuggestparallelswith

thepast.

EarlyHumans

FromTrees,toCavesandOpen-airSites

We areon surer ground when wetry to reconstruct the evidencefor patternsof

residence. Oneway of doing this isbyplottingthe distribution ofartefacts. For

example,thousandsofflaketoolsandhandaxeshavebeenexcavatedatKilombe

and Olorgesailie (Kenya). These finds are dated between 700,000 and 500,000

yearsago.

Left:ThesiteofOlorgesailie.Theexcavators,MaryandLouisLeakey,hadacatwalkbuiltaroundthe

siteforobservers.

Above:Aclose-upoftoolsfoundatthesite,includinghandaxes.

How did these tools accumulate in one place? It is possible that some places,

where food resources were abundant, were visited repeatedly. In such areas,

people would tend to leave behind traces of their activities and presence,

including artefacts. The deposited artefacts would appear as patches on the

landscape. The places that were less frequently visited would have fewer

artefacts,whichmayhavebeenscatteredoverthesurface.

Itisalsoimportanttorememberthatthesamelocationscouldhavebeensharedby

hominids,otherprimatesandcarnivores.Lookatthediagrambelowtoseehow

thismayhaveworked.

ArchaeologistssuggestthatearlyhominidssuchasHomohabilisprobablyconsumedmostofthefood

wheretheyfoundit,sleptindifferentplaces,andspentmuchoftheirtimeintrees.Howwouldbones

havereachedthesite?Howwouldstoneshavereachedthesite?Wouldboneshavesurvivedintact?

Artefactsareobjectsthataremadebyhumanbeings.Thetermcanrefertoa

widerangeofthings–tools,paintings,sculpture,engravings.

Between 400,000 and 125,000 years ago, caves and open-air sites began to be

used.EvidenceforthiscomesfromsitesinEurope.IntheLazaretcaveinsouthern

France,a12x4metreshelterwasbuiltagainstthecavewall.Insideitweretwo

hearthsandevidenceofdifferentfoodsources:fruits,vegetables,seeds,nuts,bird

eggsandfreshwaterfish(trout,perchandcarp).Atanothersite,TerraAmataon

thecoastofsouthernFrance,flimsyshelterswithroofsofwoodandgrasseswere

builtforshort-term,seasonalvisits.

Piecesofbakedclayandburntbonealongwithstonetools,datedbetween1.4and

1 mya, have been found at Chesowanja, Kenya and Swartkrans, South Africa.

Were these the result of a natural bushfire or volcanic eruption? Or were they

producedthroughthedeliberate,controlleduseoffire?Wedonotreallyknow.

ThisisareconstructionofahutatTerraAmata.Thelargestoneboulderswereusedtosupportthe

sidesofthehut.Thesmallscattersofstoneonthefloorwereplaceswherepeoplemadestonetools.The

blackspotmarkedwithanarrowindicatesahearth.Inwhatwaysdoyouthinklifeforthosewholived

inthisshelterwouldbedifferentfromthatofthehominidswholivedontrees?

Hearths,ontheotherhand,areindicationsofthecontrolleduseoffire.Thishad

severaladvantages–fireprovidedwarmthand lightinsidecaves, andcouldbe

usedforcooking.Besides,firewasusedtohardenwood,asforinstancethetipof

thespear.Theuseofheatalsofacilitatedtheflakingoftools.Asimportant,fire

couldbeusedtoscareawaydangerousanimals.

EarlyHumans:MakingTools

Tostartwith,itisusefultorememberthattheuseoftoolsandtoolmakingarenot

confinedtohumans.Birdsareknowntomakeobjectstoassistthemwithfeeding,

hygieneandsocialencounters;andwhileforagingforfoodsomechimpanzeesuse

toolsthattheyhavemade.

However,therearesomefeaturesofhumantoolmakingthatarenotknownamong

apes.Aswehaveseen(seep.11),certainanatomicalandneurological(relatedto

thenervoussystem)adaptationshaveledtotheskilleduseofhands,probablydue

totheimportantroleoftoolsinhumanlives.Moreover,thewaysinwhichhumans

use and make tools often require greater memory and complex organisational

skills,bothofwhichareabsentinapes.

Theearliestevidence forthe makinganduseofstone toolscomesfrom sitesin

Ethiopia and Kenya (see Map 1). It is likely thatthe earliest stone tool makers

weretheAustralopithecus.

Someearlytools.ThesetoolswerefoundinOlduvai.Theoneaboveisachopper.Thisisalargestone

fromwhichflakeshavebeenremovedtoproduceaworkingedge.Theonebelowisahandaxe.

Canyousuggestwhatthesetoolsmayhavebeenusedfor?

Asinthecaseofotheractivities,wedonotknowwhethertoolmakingwasdone

bymenorwomenorboth.Itispossiblethatstonetoolmakerswerebothwomen

andmen.Womenin particularmayhave madeandusedtools toobtainfoodfor

themselvesaswellastosustaintheirchildrenafterweaning.

About 35,000years ago, improvementsin thetechniquesforkilling animals are

evidentfromtheappearanceofnewkindsoftoolssuchasspear-throwersandthe

bowandarrow.Themeatthusobtainedwasprobablyprocessedbyremovingthe

bones,followedbydrying,smokingandstorage.Thus,foodcouldbestoredfor

laterconsumption.

Aspear-thrower.Notethecarvingonthehandle.Theuseofthespear-throwerenabledhunterstohurl

spearsoverlongerdistances.

Canyousuggestanyadvantageinusingsuchequipment?

Therewereotherchanges,suchasthetrappingoffur-bearinganimals(tousethe

fur for clothing) and the invention of sewing needles. The earliest evidence of

sewnclothingcomesfromabout21,000yearsago.Besides,withtheintroduction

ofthepunchbladetechniquetomakesmallchisel-liketools,itwasnowpossible

tomakeengravingsonbone,antler,ivoryorwood.

ThePunchBladeTechnique

(a)Thetopofalargepebbleisremovedusingahammerstone.

(b)Thisproducesaflatsurfacecalledthestrikingplatform.

(c)Thisisthenstruckusingahammerandapunch,madeofboneorantler.

(d)Thisleadstotheproductionofbladesthatcanbeusedasknives,ormodifiedtoserveas

chiselsorburinswhichcouldbeusedtoengravebone,antler,ivoryorwood.

(e)Anexampleofengravingonbone.Notethedrawingsofanimalsonit.

ModesofCommunication:LanguageandArt

Amonglivingbeings,itishumansalonethathavealanguage.Thereareseveral

viewsonlanguagedevelopment:(1) thathominidlanguageinvolvedgesturesor

handmovements;(2)thatspokenlanguagewasprecededbyvocalbutnon-verbal

communicationsuchassingingorhumming;(3)thathumanspeechprobablybegan

with calls like the ones that have been observed among primates. Humans may

havepossesseda small numberof speech sounds inthe initialstage.Gradually,

thesemayhavedevelopedintolanguage.

Whendidspokenlanguageemerge?IthasbeensuggestedthatthebrainofHomo

habilishadcertainfeatureswhichwouldhavemadeitpossibleforthemtospeak.

Thus,languagemayhavedevelopedasearlyas2mya.Theevolutionofthevocal

tractwasequallyimportant.Thisoccurredaround200,000yearsago.Itismore

specificallyassociatedwithmodernhumans.

Athirdsuggestionisthatlanguagedevelopedaroundthesametimeasart,thatis,

around40,000-35,000yearsago. Thedevelopmentofspoken languagehas been

seenascloselyconnectedwithart,sincebotharemediaforcommunication.

CavePaintingsatAltamira

AltamiraisacavesiteinSpain.Thepaintingsontheceilingofthecavewerefirstbroughttotheattention

ofMarcelinoSanzdeSautuola,alocallandownerandanamateurarchaeologist,byhisdaughterMariain

November1879.Thelittlegirlwas‘runningaboutinthecavernandplayingabouthereandthere’,while

her father was digging the floor of the cave. Suddenly she noticed the paintings on the ceiling: ‘Look,

Papa,oxen!’Atfirst,herfatherjustlaughed,butsoonrealisedthatsomesortofpasteratherthanpaint

hadbeenusedforthepaintingsandbecame‘soenthusiasticthathecouldhardlyspeak’.Hepublisheda

booklet the following year, but for almost two decades his findings were dismissed by European

archaeologistsonthegroundthattheseweretoogoodtobeancient.

AdrawingofabisonatAltamira,northernSpain.

Hundreds of paintings of animals (done between 30,000 and12,000 years ago)

havebeendiscovered inthecaves of Lascaux andChauvet,bothinFrance,and

Altamira, in Spain. These include depictions of bison, horses, ibex, deer,

mammoths,rhinos,lions,bears,panthers,hyenasandowls.

More questions have been raised than answered regarding these paintings. For

example,whydosomeareasofcaveshavepaintingsandnotothers?Whywere

some animals painted and not others? Why were men painted both individually

and in groups, whereas women were depicted only in groups? Why were men

paintednearanimalsbutneverwomen?Whyweregroupsofanimalspaintedin

thesectionsofcaveswheresoundscarriedwell?

Severalexplanationshavebeenoffered.Oneisthatbecauseoftheimportanceof

hunting,thepaintingsofanimalswereassociatedwithritualandmagic.Theactof

paintingcouldhavebeenaritualtoensureasuccessfulhunt.Anotherexplanation

offered is that these caves were possibly meeting places for small groups of

people or locations for group activities. These groups could share hunting

techniquesandknowledge,whilepaintingsandengravingsservedasthemediafor

passinginformationfromonegenerationtothenext.

Theaboveaccountofearlysocietieshasbeenbasedonarchaeologicalevidence.

Clearly,thereismuchthatwestilldonotknow.Asmentionedatthebeginningof

this chapter, hunter-gatherer societies exist even today. Can one learn anything

aboutpastsocietiesfrompresent-dayhunter-gatherers?Thisisaquestionwewill

addressinthenextsection.

EarlyEncounterswithHunter-GatherersinAfrica

ThefollowingisanaccountbyamemberofanAfricanpastoralgroupaboutits

initialcontactin1870withthe!KungSan,ahunter-gatherersocietylivinginthe

Kalaharidesert:

Whenwefirstcameintothisarea,allwesawwerestrangefootprintsinthesand.

Wewonderedwhatkindofpeoplethesewere.Theywereveryafraidofusand

would hide whenever we came around. We found their villages, but they were

alwaysemptybecauseassoonastheysawstrangerscoming,theywouldscatter

andhideinthebush.Wesaid:‘Oh,thisisgood;thesepeopleareafraidofus,they

areweakandwecaneasilyruleoverthem.’Sowejustruledthem.Therewasno

killingorfighting.

Youwillreadmoreaboutencounterswithhunter-gatherersinThemes8and10.

TheHadza

‘TheHadzaareasmall groupof huntersandgatherers, livinginthevicinity ofLakeEyasi, asalt, rift-

valleylake...ThecountryoftheeasternHadza,dry,rockysavanna,dominatedbythornscrubandacacia

trees...is rich in wild foods. Animals are exceptionally numerous and were certainly commoner at the

beginning of the century. Elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo, giraffe, zebra, waterbuck, gazelle, warthog,

baboon,lion,leopard,andhyenaareallcommon,asaresmalleranimalssuchasporcupine,hare,jackal,

tortoise and many others. All of these animals, apart from the elephant, are hunted and eaten by the

Hadza.Theamountofmeatthatcouldberegularlyeatenwithoutendangeringthefutureofthegameis

probablygreaterthananywhereelseintheworld wherehunters andgatherers liveorhavelivedinthe

recentpast.

Vegetablefood–roots,berries,thefruitofthebaobabtree,etc.–thoughnotoftenobvioustothecasual

observer, is always abundant even at the height of the dry season in a year of drought. The type of

vegetable food available is different in the six-month wet season from the dry season but there is no

periodofshortage.Thehoneyandgrubsofsevenspeciesofwildbeeareeaten;suppliesofthesevary

fromseasontoseasonandfromyeartoyear.

Sourcesofwaterarewidelydistributedoverthecountryinthewetseason butare veryfewinthedry

season. The Hadza consider thatabout5-6 kilometres is themaximum distance over which water can

reasonablybecarriedandcampsarenormallysitedwithinakilometreofawatercourse.

Part of the country consists of open grass plains but the Hadza never build camps there. Camps are

invariablysitedamongtreesorrocksand,bypreference,amongboth.

TheeasternHadzaassertnorightsoverlandanditsresources.Anyindividualmaylivewhereverhelikes

and may hunt animals, collect roots, berries, and honey and draw water anywhere in Hadza country

withoutanysortofrestriction...

Inspiteoftheexceptionalnumbersofgameanimalsintheirarea,theHadzarelymainlyonwildvegetable

matterfortheirfood.Probablyasmuchas80percentoftheirfoodbyweightisvegetable,whilemeat

andhoneytogetheraccountfortheremaining20percent.

Campsarecommonlysmallandwidelydispersedinthewetseason,largeandconcentratednearthefew

availablesourcesofwaterinthedryseason.

Thereisneveranyshortageoffoodeveninthetimeofdrought.’

–Writtenin1960byJamesWoodburn,ananthropologist.

Anthropologyisadisciplinethatstudieshumancultureandevolutionaryaspects

ofhumanbiology.

ACTIVITY3

Why do the Hadza not assert rights over land and its resources?

Why do the size and location of camps keep changing from

seasontoseason?Whyisthereneveranyshortageoffoodevenin

times of drought? Can you name any such hunter-gatherer

societiesinIndiatoday?

Hunter-GathererSocieties

FromthePresenttothePast

As our knowledge of present-day hunter-gatherers increased through studies by

anthropologists, a question that began to be posed was whether the information

about living hunters and gatherers could be used to understand past societies.

Currently,therearetwoopposingviewsonthisissue.

Onone sidearescholarswho have directly applied specific data frompresent-

day hunter-gatherer societiestointerpret the archaeological remainsof the past.

Forexample,somearchaeologistshavesuggestedthatthehominidsites,datedto

2mya,alongthemarginsofLakeTurkanacouldhavebeendryseasoncampsof

earlyhumans,becausesuchapracticehasbeenobservedamongtheHadzaandthe

!KungSan.

Ontheothersidearescholarswhofeelthatethnographicdatacannotbeusedfor

understandingpastsocietiesasthetwoaretotallydifferent.Forinstance,present-

dayhunter-gatherersocietiespursueseveralothereconomicactivitiesalongwith

hunting and gathering. These include engaging in exchange and trade in minor

forestproduce,orworkingaspaidlabourersinthefieldsofneighbouringfarmers.

Moreover,thesesocietiesaretotallymarginalisedinallsenses–geographically,

politicallyandsocially.Theconditionsinwhichtheyliveareverydifferentfrom

thoseofearlyhumans.

Another problem is that there is tremendous variation amongst living hunter-

gatherersocieties.Thereareconflictingdataonmanyissuessuchastherelative

importanceofhuntingandgathering,groupsizes,orthemovementfromplaceto

place.

Also, there is little consensus regarding the division of labour in food

procurement. Although today generally women gather and men hunt, there are

societieswherebothwomenandmenhuntandgatherandmaketools.Inanycase,

theimportantroleofwomenincontributing tothe food supplyinsuch societies

cannotbedenied.Itisperhapsthisfactorthatensuresarelativelyequalrolefor

bothwomenandmeninpresent-dayhunter-gatherersocieties,althoughthereare

variations. While this may be the case today, it is difficult to make any such

inferenceforthepast.

Ethnographyisthestudyofcontemporaryethnicgroups.Itincludesanexamination

of their modes of livelihood, technology, gender roles, rituals, political

institutionsandsocialcustoms.

Epilogue

For several million years, humans lived by hunting wild animals and gathering

wildplants.Then,between10,000and4,500yearsago,peopleindifferentparts

of the world learnt to domesticate certain plants and animals. This led to the

developmentoffarmingandpastoralismasawayoflife.Theshiftfromforaging

tofarmingwasamajorturningpointinhumanhistory.Whydidthischangetake

placeatthispointoftime?

The last ice age came to an end about 13,000 years ago and with that warmer,

wetter conditions prevailed. As a result, conditions were favourable for the

growth of grasses such as wild barley and wheat. At the same time, as open

forestsandgrasslandsexpanded,thepopulationofcertainanimalspeciessuchas

wild sheep, goat, cattle, pig and donkey increased. What we find is thathuman

societiesbegan to gradually preferareasthathad an abundanceof wild grasses

and animals.Now relatively large,permanentcommunities occupied such areas

for most parts of the year. With some areas being clearly preferred, a pressure

mayhavebuiltuptoincreasethefoodsupply.Thismayhavetriggeredtheprocess

ofdomestication ofcertainplantsand animals.It islikely thatacombination of

factorswhichincludedclimaticchange,populationpressure,agreaterrelianceon

andknowledgeofafewspeciesofplants(suchaswheat,barley,riceandmillet)

and animals (such as sheep, goat, cattle, donkey and pig) played a role in this

transformation.

Onesuchareawherefarmingandpastoralismbeganaround10,000yearsagowas

the Fertile Crescent, extending from the Mediterranean coast to the Zagros

mountainsinIran.Withtheintroductionofagriculture,morepeoplebegantostay

inoneplaceforevenlongerperiodsthantheyhaddonebefore.Thuspermanent

housesbegantobebuiltofmud,mudbricksandevenstone.Thesearesomeofthe

earliestvillagesknowntoarchaeologists.

ACTIVITY4

Whatdoyouthinkaretheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofusing

ethnographic accounts to reconstruct the lives of the earliest

peoples?

Farmingandpastoralismledtotheintroductionofmanyotherchangessuchasthe

making of pots in which to store grain and other produce, and to cook food.

Besides, new kinds of stone tools came into use. Other new tools such as the

ploughwereusedin agriculture.Gradually,peoplebecamefamiliarwithmetals

such as copper and tin. The wheel, important for both pot making and

transportation,cameintouse.

About 5,000 years ago, even larger concentrations of people began to live

together in cities. Why did this happen? And what are the differences between

citiesandothersettlements?Lookoutforanswerstotheseandotherquestionsin

Theme2.

TheRiftValley,EastAfrica.

Exercises

Answerinbrief

1.Lookatthediagramshowingthepositivefeedbackmechanismonpage13.Can

youlisttheinputsthatwentintotoolmaking?Whatweretheprocessesthatwere

strengthenedbytoolmaking?

2. Humansand mammals such as monkeys and apeshave certain similarities in

behaviour and anatomy. This indicates thathumanspossiblyevolvedfrom apes.

Listtheseresemblancesintwocolumnsundertheheadingsof(a)behaviourand

(b)anatomy.Arethereanydifferencesthatyouthinkarenoteworthy?

3.Discusstheargumentsadvancedinfavouroftheregionalcontinuitymodelof

human origins. Do you think it provides a convincing explanation of the

archaeologicalevidence?Givereasonsforyouranswer.

4.Whichofthefollowingdoyouthinkisbestdocumentedinthearchaeological

record:(a)gathering,(b)toolmaking,(c)theuseoffire?

Answerinashortessay

5.Discusstheextenttowhich(a)huntingand(b)constructingshelterswouldhave

beenfacilitatedbytheuseoflanguage.Whatothermodesofcommunicationcould

havebeenusedfortheseactivities?

6.Chooseanytwo developmentseachfromTimelines1and 2at the end of the

chapterandindicatewhyyouthinkthesearesignificant.

Theme2

WritingandCityLife

City life began in Mesopotamia*, the land between the Euphrates and the

TigrisriversthatisnowpartoftheRepublicofIraq.Mesopotamiancivilisation

isknownforitsprosperity,citylife,itsvoluminousandrichliteratureandits

mathematics and astronomy. Mesopotamia’s writing system and literature

spread to the eastern Mediterranean, northern Syria, and Turkey after 2000

bce,sothatthekingdomsofthatentireregionwerewritingtooneanother,and

tothePharaohofEgypt,inthelanguageandscriptofMesopotamia.Herewe

shall explore the connection between city life and writing, and then look at

someoutcomesofasustainedtraditionofwriting.

*The name Mesopotamia is derived from the Greek words mesos, meaning middle, and potamos,

meaningriver.

Inthebeginningofrecordedhistory,theland,mainlytheurbanisedsouth(see

discussionbelow),wascalledSumerandAkkad.After2000bce,whenBabylon

becameanimportantcity,thetermBabyloniawasusedforthesouthernregion.

From about 1100 bce, when the Assyrians established their kingdom in the

north, the region became known as Assyria. The first known language of the

land was Sumerian. It was gradually replaced by Akkadian around 2400 bce

when Akkadian speakers arrived. This language flourished till about

Alexander’stime(336-323bce), with some regional changes occurring. From

1400bce,Aramaicalso trickled in.Thislanguage,similartoHebrew,became

widelyspokenafter1000bce.ItisstillspokeninpartsofIraq.

ArchaeologyinMesopotamiabeganinthe1840s.Atoneortwosites(including

UrukandMari,whichwediscussbelow),excavationscontinuedfordecades.(No

Indian site has ever seen such long-term projects.) Not only can we study

hundredsofMesopotamianbuildings,statues,ornaments,graves,toolsandseals

assources,therearethousandsofwrittendocuments.

MesopotamiawasimportanttoEuropeansbecauseofreferencestoitintheOld

Testament,thefirstpartoftheBible.Forinstance,theBookofGenesisoftheOld

Testament refers to ‘Shimar’, meaning Sumer, as a land of brick-built cities.

TravellersandscholarsofEuropelookedonMesopotamiaasakindofancestral

land, and when archaeological work began in the area, there was an attemptto

provetheliteraltruthoftheOldTestament.

From the mid-nineteenth century there was no stopping the enthusiasm for

exploringtheancientpastofMesopotamia.In1873,aBritishnewspaperfunded

anexpeditionoftheBritishMuseumtosearchforatabletnarratingthestoryofthe

Flood,mentionedintheBible.

By the 1960s, itwas understood that the stories of the Old Testament were not

literally true, but may have been ways of expressing memories about important

changes in history. Gradually, archaeological techniques became far more

sophisticated and refined. What is more, attention was directed to different

questions,includingreconstructingthelivesofordinary people.Establishingthe

literaltruthofBiblicalnarrativesrecededintothebackground.Muchofwhatwe

discusssubsequentlyinthechapterisbasedontheselaterstudies.

AccordingtotheBible,theFloodwasmeanttodestroyalllifeonearth.However,

Godchoseaman,Noah,toensurethatlifecouldcontinueaftertheFlood.Noah

builtahugeboat,anark.Hetookapaireachofallknownspeciesofanimalsand

birdsonboardtheark,whichsurvivedtheFlood.Therewasastrikinglysimilar

story in the Mesopotamian tradition, where the principal character was called

ZiusudraorUtnapishtim.

Map1:WestAsia

Activity1

Manysocietieshavemythsaboutfloods.Theseareoftenwaysof

preserving and expressing memories about important changes in

history. Find out more about these, noting how life before and

afterthefloodisrepresented.

MesopotamiaanditsGeography

Iraq is a land of diverse environments. In the north-east lie green, undulating

plains, gradually rising to tree-covered mountain ranges with clear streams and

wild flowers, with enough rainfall to grow crops. Here, agriculture began

between 7000 and 6000 bce. In the north, there is a stretch of upland called a

steppe,whereanimalherdingofferspeopleabetterlivelihoodthanagriculture–

after the winter rains, sheep and goats feed on the grasses and low shrubs that

growhere.Totheeast,tributariesoftheTigrisprovideroutesofcommunication

intothemountainsofIran.Thesouthisadesert–andthisiswherethefirstcities

and writing emerged (see below). This desert could support cities because the

riversEuphratesandTigris,whichriseinthenorthernmountains,carryloadsof

silt (finemud). When they flood or when their waterislet out on to the fields,

fertilesiltisdeposited.

Map2:Mesopotamia:Mountains,Steppe,Desert,IrrigatedZoneoftheSouth.

AftertheEuphrateshasenteredthedesert,itswaterflowsoutintosmallchannels.

Thesechannelsfloodtheirbanksand,inthepast,functionedasirrigationcanals:

watercouldbeletintothefieldsofwheat,barley,peasorlentilswhennecessary.

Ofallancientsystems,thatoftheRomanEmpire(Theme3)included,itwasthe

agricultureofsouthernMesopotamiathatwasthemostproductive,eventhoughthe

regiondidnothavesufficientrainfalltogrowcrops.

Notonlyagriculture,Mesopotamiansheepandgoatsthatgrazedonthesteppe,the

north-eastern plains and the mountain slopes (that is, on tracts too high for the

riverstofloodandfertilise)producedmeat,milkandwoolinabundance.Further,

fish was available in rivers and date-palms gave fruit in summer. Let us not,

however, make the mistake of thinking that cities grew simply because of rural

prosperity.Weshalldiscussotherfactorsbyandby,butfirstletusbeclearabout

citylife.

TheSignificanceofUrbanism

Citiesandtownsarenotjustplaceswithlargepopulations.Itiswhenaneconomy

developsinspheresotherthanfoodproductionthatitbecomesanadvantagefor

peopleto clusterintowns.Urban economiescomprisebesidesfoodproduction,

trade,manufacturesandservices.Citypeople,thus,ceasetobeself-sufficientand

depend on the products or services of other (city or village) people. There is

continuous interaction among them. For instance, the carver of a stone seal

requires bronze tools that he himself cannot make, and coloured stones for the

sealsthathedoesnotknowwheretoget:his‘specialisation’isfinecarving,not

trading.Thebronzetoolmakerdoesnothimselfgoouttogetthemetals,copper

andtin.Besides,heneedsregularsuppliesofcharcoalforfuel.Thedivisionof

labourisamarkofurbanlife.

Further,theremustbeasocialorganisationinplace.Fuel,metal,variousstones,

wood, etc., come from many different places for city manufacturers. Thus,

organised trade and storage is needed. There are deliveries of grain and other

fooditems from thevillageto the city,and foodsuppliesneed tobestored and

distributed.Besides,manydifferentactivitieshavetobecoordinated:theremust

be not only stones but also bronze tools and pots available for seal cutters.

Obviously, in such a system some people give commands that others obey, and

urbaneconomiesoftenrequirethekeepingofwrittenrecords.

The earliest cities in Mesopotamia date back to the bronze age, c.3000 bce.

Bronzeisanalloyofcopperandtin.Usingbronzemeantprocuringthesemetals,

often from great distances. Metal tools were necessary for accurate carpentry,

drilling beads, carving stone seals, cutting shell for inlaid furniture, etc.

Mesopotamianweaponswerealsoofbronze–forexample,thetipsofthespears

thatyouseeintheillustrationonp.38.

TheWarkaHead

This woman’s head was sculpted in white marble at Uruk before 3000 bce. The eyes and eyebrows

wouldprobably have taken lapislazuli (blue) and shell (white) and bitumen (black) inlays, respectively.

Thereis agroovealong thetopofthehead, perhapsforanornament.This isaworld-famouspieceof

sculpture, admired for the delicate modelling of the woman’s mouth, chin and cheeks. And it was

modelledinahardstonethatwouldhavebeenimportedfromadistance.

Beginning with the procurement of stone, list all the specialists who would be involved in the

productionofsuchapieceofsculpture.

Activity2

Discuss whether city life would have been possible without the

useofmetals.

MovementofGoodsintoCities

However rich the food resources of Mesopotamia, its mineral resources were

few.Mostpartsofthesouthlackedstonesfortools,sealsandjewels;thewoodof

the Iraqi date-palm and poplar was not good enough for carts, cart wheels or

boats;andtherewasnometalfortools,vesselsorornaments.Sowecansurmise

that the ancient Mesopotamians could have traded their abundant textiles and

agriculturalproduceforwood,copper,tin,silver,gold,shellandvariousstones

from Turkey and Iran, or across the Gulf. These latter regions had mineral

resources,butmuchlessscopeforagriculture.Regularexchanges–possibleonly

whentherewasasocialorganisation–toequipforeignexpeditionsanddirectthe

exchangeswereinitiatedbythepeopleofsouthernMesopotamia.

Besidescrafts,tradeandservices,efficienttransportisalsoimportantforurban

development.Ifittakestoomuchtime,ortoomuchanimalfeed,tocarrygrainor

charcoalintocitiesonpackanimalsorbullockcarts,thecityeconomywillnotbe

viable. The cheapest mode of transportation is, everywhere, over water. River

boats or barges loaded with sacks of grain are propelled by the current of the

river and/or wind, but when animals transport goods, they need to be fed. The

canalsandnaturalchannelsofancientMesopotamiawereinfactroutesofgoods

transport between large and small settlements, and in the account on the city of

Marilaterinthechapter,theimportanceoftheEuphratesasa‘worldroute’will

becomeclear.

TheDevelopmentofWriting

All societies have languages in which certain spoken sounds convey certain

meanings.Thisisverbalcommunication.Writingtoois verbalcommunication–

but in a different way. When we talk about writing or a script, we mean that

spokensoundsarerepresentedin

visiblesigns.

Claytabletsc.3200bce.Eachtabletis3.5cmorlessinheight,withpicture-likesigns(ox,fish,grain,

boat)andnumbers()

ThefirstMesopotamiantablets,writtenaround3200bce, contained picture-like

signsandnumbers.Thesewereabout5,000listsofoxen,fish,breadloaves,etc.–

listsofgoodsthatwerebroughtintoordistributedfromthetemplesofUruk,acity

in the south. Clearly, writing began when society needed to keep records of

transactions – because in city life transactions occurred at different times, and

involvedmanypeopleandavarietyofgoods.

Cuneiformsyllabicsigns.

Mesopotamianswroteontabletsofclay.Ascribewouldwetclayandpatitintoa

size he could hold comfortably in one hand. He would carefully smoothen its

surfaces. With the sharp end of a reed cut obliquely, he would press wedge-

shaped(‘cuneiform*’)signsontothesmoothenedsurfacewhileitwasstillmoist.

Aclaytabletwrittenonbothsidesincuneiform.

Itisamathematicalexercise–youcanseeatriangleandlinesacrossthetriangleonthetopofthe

obverseside.Youcanseethatthelettershavebeenpressedintotheclay.

Once dried in the sun, the clay would harden and tablets would be almost as

indestructibleaspottery.Whenawrittenrecordof,say,thedeliveryofpiecesof

metal had ceased to be relevant, the tablet was thrown away. Once the surface

dried, signs could not be pressed on to a tablet: so each transaction, however

minor, required a separate written tablet. This is why tablets occur by the

hundredsatMesopotamiansites.Anditisbecauseofthiswealthofsourcesthat

weknowsomuchmoreaboutMesopotamiathanwedoaboutcontemporaryIndia.

*CuneiformisderivedfromtheLatinwordscuneus,meaning‘wedge’andforma,meaning‘shape’.

By2600bceorso,thelettersbecamecuneiform,andthelanguagewasSumerian.

Writing was now used not only for keeping records, but also for making

dictionaries,giving legalvaliditytolandtransfers, narratingthe deedsof kings,

and announcing thechangesaking hadmadein thecustomary lawsofthe land.

Sumerian, the earliestknown languageof Mesopotamia,wasgradually replaced

after 2400 bce by the Akkadian language. Cuneiform writing in the Akkadian

language continued in use until the first century ce, that is, for more than 2,000

years.

TheSystemofWriting

Thesoundthatacuneiformsignrepresentedwasnotasingleconsonantorvowel

(suchasmoraintheEnglishalphabet),butsyllables(say,-put-,or-la-,or-in-).

Thus,thesignsthataMesopotamianscribehadtolearnranintohundreds,andhe

hadtobeabletohandleawettabletandgetitwrittenbeforeitdried.So,writing

was a skilled craft but, more important, it was an enormous intellectual

achievement, conveying in visual form the system of sounds of a particular

language.

Literacy

VeryfewMesopotamianscouldreadandwrite.Notonlyweretherehundredsof

signstolearn,manyofthesewerecomplex(seep.33).Ifakingcouldread,he

madesurethatthiswasrecordedinoneofhisboastfulinscriptions!Forthemost

part,however,writingreflectedthemodeofspeaking.

Aletterfromanofficialwouldhavetobereadouttotheking.Soitwouldbegin:

‘TomylordA,speak:…ThussaysyourservantB:…Ihavecarriedoutthework

assignedtome...’

Alongmythicalpoemaboutcreationendsthus:

‘Lettheseversesbeheldinremembranceandlettheelderteachthem;

letthewiseoneandthescholardiscussthem;

letthefatherrepeatthemtohissons;

lettheearsof(even)theherdsmanbeopenedtothem.’

TheUsesofWriting

The connection between city life, trade and writing is brought out in a long

Sumerian epic poem about Enmerkar, one of the earliest rulers of Uruk. In

Mesopotamiantradition,Urukwasthecityparexcellence,oftenknownsimplyas

TheCity.

Enmerkar is associated with the organisation of the first trade of Sumer: in the

early days, the epic says, ‘trade was notknown’. Enmerkar wanted lapis lazuli

andpreciousmetalsforthebeautificationofacitytempleandsenthismessenger

outtogetthemfromthechiefofaverydistantlandcalledAratta.‘Themessenger

heededthewordoftheking.Bynighthewentjustbythestars.Byday,hewould

gobyheaven’ssundivine.Hehadtogoupintothemountainranges,andhadto

come down out of the mountain ranges. The people of Susa (a city) below the

mountainssalutedhimliketinymice*.Fivemountainranges,sixmountainranges,

sevenmountainrangeshecrossed...’

ThemessengercouldnotgetthechiefofArattatopartwithlapislazuliorsilver,

and he had to make the long journey back and forth, again and again, carrying

threats and promises from the king of Uruk. Ultimately, the messenger ‘grew

weary of mouth’. He gotall the messages mixed up. Then, ‘Enmerkar formed a

clay tablet in his hand, and he wrote the words down. In those days, there had

beennowritingdownofwordsonclay.’

*Thepoetmeansthatoncethemessengerhadclimbedtoagreatheight,everythingappearedsmallin

thevalleyfarbelow.

Giventhewrittentablet,‘therulerofArattaexaminedtheclay.Thespokenwords

werenails*.Hisfacewasfrowning.Hekeptlookingatthetablet.’

This should not be taken as the literal truth, but it can be inferred that in

Mesopotamian understanding it was kingship that organised trade and writing.

Thispoemalsotellsusthat,besidesbeingameansofstoringinformationandof

sending messages afar, writing was seen as a sign of the superiority of

Mesopotamianurbanculture.

*Cuneiformletterswerewedgeshaped,hence,likenails.

Urbanisation in Southern Mesopotamia:Temples and

Kings

From5000bce,settlementshadbeguntodevelopinsouthernMesopotamia.The

earliest cities emerged from some of these settlements. These were of various

kinds: those that gradually developed around temples; those that developed as

centresoftrade;andimperialcities.Itiscitiesofthefirsttwokindsthatwillbe

discussedhere.

Early settlers (theirorigins areunknown)began to buildand rebuild templesat

selected spots in their villages. The earliest known temple was a small shrine

made of unbaked bricks. Temples were the residences of various gods: of the

MoonGodofUr,orofInannatheGoddessofLoveandWar.Constructedinbrick,

temples became larger over time, with several rooms around open courtyards.

Some of the early ones were possibly not unlike the ordinary house – for the

templewasthehouseofagod.Buttemplesalwayshadtheirouterwallsgoingin

andoutatregularintervals,whichnoordinarybuildingeverhad.

Thegodwasthefocusofworship:tohimorherpeoplebroughtgrain,curdand

fish(thefloorsofsomeearlytempleshadthicklayersoffishbones).Thegodwas

alsothetheoreticalowneroftheagriculturalfields,thefisheries,andtheherdsof

thelocalcommunity.Intime,theprocessingofproduce(forexample,oilpressing,

graingrinding,spinning,andtheweavingofwoollencloth)wasalsodoneinthe

temple. Organiser of production at a level above the household, employer of

merchantsandkeeperofwrittenrecordsofdistributionsandallotmentsofgrain,

plough animals, bread, beer, fish, etc., the temple gradually developed its

activitiesandbecamethemainurbaninstitution.Buttherewasalsoanotherfactor

onthescene.

Theearliestknowntempleofthesouth,c.5000bce(plan).

Inspiteofnaturalfertility,agriculturewassubjecttohazards.Thenaturaloutlet

channels of the Euphrates would have too much water one year and flood the

crops,andsometimestheywouldchangecoursealtogether.Asthearchaeological

record shows, villages were periodically relocated in Mesopotamian history.

There were man-made problems as well. Those who lived on the upstream

stretches of a channel could divert so much water into their fields that villages

downstream were left without water. Or they could neglect toclean out the silt

fromtheirstretchofthechannel,blockingtheflowofwaterfurtherdown.Sothe

earlyMesopotamiancountrysidesawrepeatedconflictoverlandandwater.

Atempleofalaterperiod,c.3000bce,withanopencourtyardandin-and-outfaçade(asexcavated).

When there was continuous warfare in a region, those chiefs who had been

successfulinwarcouldobligetheirfollowersbydistributingtheloot,andcould

takeprisonersfromthedefeatedgroupstoemployastheirguardsorservants.So

theycouldincreasetheirinfluenceandclout.Suchwarleaders,however,would

beheretodayandgonetomorrow–untilatimecamewhensuchleadershipcame

toincreasethewell-beingofthecommunitywiththecreationofnewinstitutions

orpractices.Intime,victoriouschiefsbegantoofferpreciousbootytothegods

andthusbeautifythecommunity’stemples.Theywouldsendmenouttofetchfine

stones and metal for the benefit of the god and community and organise the

distributionoftemplewealthinanefficientwaybyaccountingforthingsthatcame

inandwentout.AsthepoemaboutEnmerkarshows,thisgavethekinghighstatus

andtheauthoritytocommandthecommunity.

We can imagine a mutually reinforcing cycle of development in which leaders

encouragedthesettlementofvillagersclosetothemselves,tobeabletorapidly

getanarmytogether.Besides,peoplewouldbesafelivingincloseproximityto

one another. At Uruk, one of the earliest temple towns, we find depictions of

armedheroesand their victims, and carefularchaeological surveyshave shown

thataround3000bce,whenUrukgrewtotheenormousextentof250hectares–

twice as large as Mohenjo-daro would be in later centuries – dozens of small

villages were deserted. There had been a major population shift. Significantly,

Uruk also came to have a defensive wall at a very early date. The site was

continuouslyoccupiedfromabout4200bcetoabout400ce,andbyabout2800

bceithadexpandedto400hectares.

Top:Basaltstele*showingabeardedmantwice.Notehisheadbandandhair,waistbandandlongskirt.

Inthelowersceneheattacksalionwithahugebowandarrow.Inthesceneabove,theherofinally

killstherampantlionwithaspear(c.3200bce).

Warcaptivesandlocalpeoplewereputtoworkforthetemple,ordirectlyforthe

ruler.This,ratherthanagriculturaltax,wascompulsory.Thosewhowereputto

work were paid rations. Hundreds of ration lists have been found, which give,

againstpeople’snames,thequantitiesofgrain,clothoroilallottedtothem.Ithas

beenestimatedthat oneof thetemples took1,500 men working 10hoursaday,

fiveyearstobuild.

Withrulerscommandingpeopletofetchstonesormetalores,tocomeandmake

bricks or lay the bricks for a temple, or else to go toa distantcountry to fetch

suitablematerials,therewerealsotechnicaladvancesatUrukaround3000bce.

Bronzetoolscameintouseforvariouscrafts.Architectslearnttoconstructbrick

columns,therebeingnosuitablewoodtobeartheweightoftheroofoflargehalls.

Hundredsofpeoplewereputtoworkatmakingandbakingclayconesthatcould

be pushed into temple walls, painted in different colours, creating a colourful

mosaic.Insculpture,thereweresuperbachievements,notineasilyavailableclay

but inimportedstone.Andthen therewasa technologicallandmarkthatwecan

say isappropriatetoan urban economy:thepotter’swheel.In the long run, the

wheelenablesapotter’sworkshopto‘massproduce’dozensofsimilarpotsata

time.

*Stelesarestoneslabswithinscriptionsorcarvings.

Impressionofacylinderseal,c.3200bce.Thebeardedandarmedstandingfigureissimilarindress

andhairstyletotheherointhestele*shownabove.

Notethreeprisonersofwar,theirarmsbound,andafourthmanbeseechingthewarleader.

TheSeal–AnUrbanArtefact

In India, early stone seals were stamped. In Mesopotamia until the end of the first millennium bce,

cylindricalstoneseals,pierceddownthecentre,werefittedwithastickandrolledoverwetclaysothata

continuous picture was created. They were carved by very skilled craftsmen, and sometimes carry

writing:thenameoftheowner,hisgod,hisofficialposition,etc.Asealcouldberolledonclaycovering

thestringknotofaclothpackageorthemouthofapot,keepingthecontentssafe.Whenrolledonaletter

writtenon aclaytablet, itbecameamarkof authenticity.Sothesealwas themarkof acitydweller’s

roleinpubliclife.

Fiveearlycylindersealsandtheirimpressions.

Describewhatyouseeineachoftheimpressions.Isthecuneiformscriptshownonthem?

LifeintheCity

Whatwehaveseenisthatarulingelitehademerged:asmallsectionofsociety

hadamajorshareofthewealth.Nothingmakesthisfactasclearastheenormous

riches (jewellery, gold vessels, wooden musical instruments inlaid with white

shell andlapis lazuli, ceremonialdaggers of gold,etc.)buried with some kings

andqueensatUr.Butwhatoftheordinarypeople?

*Anuclearfamilycomprisesaman,hiswifeandchildren.

We know from the legal texts (disputes, inheritance matters, etc.) that in

Mesopotamiansocietythenuclearfamily*wasthenorm,althoughamarriedson

and his family often resided with his parents. The father was the head of the

family. We know a little about the procedures for marriage. A declaration was

madeaboutthewillingnesstomarry,thebride’sparentsgivingtheirconsenttothe

marriage. Then a gift was given by the groom’s people to the bride’s people.

When the wedding took place, gifts were exchanged by both parties, who ate

together and madeofferingsin a temple. When her mother-in-lawcame to fetch

her, thebride was given her share of theinheritance by her father. The father’s

house,herds,fields,etc.,wereinheritedbythesons.

LetuslookatUr,oneoftheearliestcitiestohavebeenexcavated.Urwasatown

whose ordinary houses were systematically excavated in the 1930s. Narrow

winding streets indicate that wheeled carts could not have reached many of the

houses.Sacksofgrainandfirewoodwouldhavearrivedondonkey-back.Narrow

windingstreetsandtheirregularshapesofhouseplotsalsoindicateanabsenceof

townplanning.Therewereno streetdrains ofthekind wefindin contemporary

Mohenjo-daro.Drainsandclaypipeswereinsteadfoundintheinnercourtyards

oftheUrhousesanditisthoughtthathouseroofsslopedinwardsandrainwater

waschannelledviathedrainpipesintosumps*intheinnercourtyards.Thiswould

have been a way of preventing the unpaved streets from becoming excessively

slushyafteradownpour.

*Asumpisacoveredbasininthegroundintowhichwaterandsewageflow.

AresidentialareaatUr,c.2000bce.

Canyoulocate,besidesthewindingstreets,twoorthreeblindalleys?

Yet people seem to have sweptalltheirhouseholdrefuse into the streets,tobe

trodden underfoot!Thismade streetlevels rise,and over time the thresholds of

houses had also to be raised so that no mud would flow inside after the rains.

Lightcameintotheroomsnotfromwindowsbutfromdoorwaysopeningintothe

courtyards: this would also have given families their privacy. There were

superstitions about houses, recorded in omen tablets at Ur: a raised threshold

broughtwealth;afrontdoorthatdidnotopentowardsanotherhousewaslucky;

butifthemainwoodendoorofahouseopenedoutwards(insteadofinwards),the

wifewouldbeatormenttoherhusband!

TherewasatowncemeteryatUrinwhichthegravesofroyaltyandcommoners

have been found, but a few individuals were found buried under the floors of

ordinaryhouses.

ATradingTowninaPastoralZone

After2000bcetheroyalcapitalofMariflourished.Youwillhavenoticed(see

Map 2) that Mari stands not on the southern plain with its highly productive

agriculture but much further upstream on the Euphrates. Map 3 with its colour

codingshowsthatagricultureandanimalrearingwerecarriedoutclosetoeach

otherinthisregion.SomecommunitiesinthekingdomofMarihadbothfarmers

andpastoralists,butmostofitsterritorywasusedforpasturingsheepandgoats.

Map3:TheLocationofMari

Herders needtoexchange young animals, cheese, leather and meat in return for

grain,metaltools,etc.,andthemanureofapennedflockisalsoofgreatusetoa

farmer.Yet,atthesametime,theremaybeconflict.Ashepherdmaytakehisflock

towateracrossasownfield,totheruinofthecrop.Herdsmenbeingmobilecan

raid agricultural villages and seize their stored goods. For their part, settled

groupsmaydenypastoralistsaccesstoriverandcanalwateralongacertainsetof

paths.

Through Mesopotamian history, nomadic communities of the western desert

filtered into the prosperous agricultural heartland. Shepherds would bring their

flocksintothesownareainthesummer.Suchgroupswouldcomeinasherders,

harvestlabourers or hired soldiers, occasionally becomeprosperous, and settle

down. A few gained the power to establish their own rule. These included the

Akkadians,Amorites,AssyriansandAramaeans.(Youwillreadmoreaboutrulers

from pastoral societies in Theme 5.) The kings of Mari were Amorites whose

dressdifferedfromthatoftheoriginalinhabitantsandwhorespectednotonlythe

gods of Mesopotamia but also raised a temple at Mari for Dagan, god of the

steppe.Mesopotamiansocietyandculturewerethusopentodifferentpeopleand

cultures,andthevitalityofthecivilisationwasperhapsduetothisintermixture.

Awarriorholdingalongspearandawickershield.Notethedress,typicalofAmorites,anddifferent

fromthatoftheSumerianwarriorshownonp.38.Thispicturewasincisedonshell,c.2600bce.

ThePalaceatMariofKingZimrilim(1810-1760bce)

ThegreatpalaceofMariwastheresidenceoftheroyalfamily,thehubofadministration,andaplaceof

production,especiallyofpreciousmetalornaments.Itwassofamousinitstimethataminorkingcame

fromnorthSyriajusttoseeit,carryingwithhimaletterofintroductionfromaroyalfriendofthekingof

Mari,Zimrilim.Dailylistsrevealthathugequantitiesoffoodwerepresentedeachdayfortheking’stable:

flour,bread,meat,fish,fruit,beerandwine.Heprobablyateinthecompanyofmanyothers,inoraround

courtyard106,pavedwhite.Youwillnoticefromtheplanthatthepalacehadonlyoneentrance,onthe

north. The large, open courtyards such as 131 were beautifully paved. The king would have received

foreign dignitaries and his own people in 132, a room with wall paintings that would have awed the

visitors.Thepalacewasasprawlingstructure,with260roomsandcoveredanareaof2.4hectares.

Activity3

Tracetheroutefromtheentrancetotheinnercourt.

Whatdoyouthinkwouldhavebeenkeptinthestorerooms?

Howhasthekitchenbeenidentified?

The kings of Mari, however, had to be vigilant; herders of various tribes were

allowedtomoveinthekingdom,buttheywerewatched.Thecampsofherdersare

mentionedfrequentlyinlettersbetweenkingsandofficials.Inoneletter,anofficer

writestothekingthathehasbeenseeingfrequentfiresignalsatnight–sentby

onecamptoanother–andhesuspectsthataraidoranattackisbeingplanned.

LocatedontheEuphratesinaprimepositionfortrade–inwood,copper,tin,oil,

wine, and variousother goods that were carried in boatsalong the Euphrates –

between the south and the mineral-rich uplands of Turkey, Syria and Lebanon,

Mari is a good example of an urban centre prospering on trade. Boatscarrying

grindingstones,wood,andwineandoiljars,wouldstopatMariontheirwayto

thesouthern cities.Officers of this town would go aboard, inspect the cargo (a

singleriverboatcouldhold300winejars),andlevyachargeofaboutone-tenth

thevalueofthe goodsbeforeallowingtheboattocontinuedownstream.Barley

came in special grain boats. Most important, tablets refer to copper from

‘Alashiya’,theislandofCyprus,knownforitscopper,andtinwasalsoanitemof

trade. As bronze was the main industrial material for tools and weapons, this

trade was of great importance. Thus, although the kingdom of Mari was not

militarilystrong,itwasexceptionallyprosperous.

ExcavatingMesopotamianTowns

Today,Mesopotamianexcavatorshavemuchhigherstandardsofaccuracyandcareinrecordingthanin

theolddays,sothatfewdighugeareasthewayUrwasexcavated.Moreover,fewarchaeologistshave

thefundstoemploylargeteamsofexcavators.Thus,themodeofobtainingdatahaschanged.

TakethesmalltownatAbuSalabikh,about10hectaresinareain2500bcewith apopulationless than

10,000.Theoutlinesofwallswereatfirsttracedbyscrapingsurfaces.Thisinvolvesscrapingoffthetop

few millimetres of the mound with the sharp and wide end of a shovel or other tool. While the soil

underneathwasstillslightlymoist,thearchaeologistcouldmakeoutdifferentcolours,texturesandlinesof

brick walls or pits or other features. A few houses that were discovered were excavated. The

archaeologistsalsosievedthroughtonsofearthtorecoverplantandanimalremains,andintheprocess

identified many species ofplants and animalsand found largequantities ofcharred fishbonesthathad

beensweptoutontothestreets. Plantseedsandfibreremainedafterdungcakes hadbeenburnedas

fuelandthuskitchenswereidentified.Livingroomswerethosewithfewertraces.Becausetheyfound

theteethofveryyoungpigsonthestreets,archaeologistsconcludedthatpigsmusthaveroamedfreely

hereasinanyotherMesopotamiantown.Infact,onehouseburialcontainedsomepigbones–thedead

personmusthavebeengivensomeporkforhisnourishmentintheafterlife!Thearchaeologistsalsomade

microscopicstudiesofroomfloorstodecidewhichroomsinahousewereroofed(withpoplarlogs,palm

leaves,straw,etc.)andwhichwereopentothesky.

CitiesinMesopotamianCulture

Mesopotamians valued city life in which people of many communities and

cultureslivedsidebyside.Aftercitiesweredestroyedinwar,theyrecalledthem

inpoetry.

ThemostpoignantremindertousoftheprideMesopotamianstookintheircities

comes at the end of the Gilgamesh Epic, which was written on twelve tablets.

GilgameshissaidtohaveruledthecityofUruksometimeafterEnmerkar.Agreat

hero who subdued people far and wide, he got a shock when his heroic friend

died. He then set out to find the secret of immortality, crossing the waters that

surround the world. After a heroic attempt, Gilgamesh failed, and returned to

Uruk.There,heconsoledhimselfbywalkingalongthecitywall,backandforth.

Headmiredthefoundationsmadeoffiredbricksthathehadputintoplace.Itison

the city wall of Uruk that the long tale of heroism and endeavour fizzles out.

Gilgameshdoesnotsaythateventhoughhewilldiehissonswilloutlivehim,asa

tribalherowouldhavedone.Hetakesconsolationinthecitythathispeoplehad

built.

TheLegacyofWriting

Whilemovingnarrativescanbetransmittedorally,sciencerequireswrittentexts

thatgenerationsofscholarscanreadandbuildupon.Perhapsthegreatestlegacy

of Mesopotamia to the world is its scholarly tradition of time reckoning and

mathematics.

Dating around 1800 bce are tablets with multiplication and division tables,

square-andsquare-roottables,andtablesofcompoundinterest.Thesquareroot

of2wasgivenas:

1+24/60+51/602+10/603

If you work this out,you will find that theanswer is 1.41421296, only slightly

different from the correct answer, 1.41421356. Students had to solve problems

suchasthefollowing:afieldofareasuchandsuchiscoveredonefingerdeepin

water;findoutthevolumeofwater.

Thedivisionofthe yearinto12monthsaccordingto therevolutionofthemoon

aroundtheearth,thedivisionofthemonthintofourweeks,thedayinto24hours,

andthehourinto60minutes–allthatwetakeforgrantedinourdailylives–has

come to us from theMesopotamians.Thesetime divisions wereadopted by the

successorsofAlexanderandfromtheretransmittedtotheRomanworld,thento

the world of Islam, and then to medieval Europe (see Theme 7 for how this

happened).

Whenever solar and lunar eclipses were observed, their occurrence was noted

accordingtoyear,monthandday.Sotootherewererecordsabouttheobserved

positionsofstarsandconstellationsinthenightsky.

NoneofthesemomentousMesopotamianachievementswouldhavebeenpossible

without writing and the urban institution of schools, where students read and

copiedearlierwrittentablets,andwheresomeboysweretrainedtobecomenot

record keepers for the administration, but intellectuals who could build on the

workoftheirpredecessors.

Wewouldbemistakenifwethinkthatthepreoccupationwiththeurbanworldof

Mesopotamiaisamodernphenomenon.Letuslook,finally,attwoearlyattempts

tolocateandpreservethetextsandtraditionsofthepast.

AnEarlyLibrary

Intheironage,theAssyriansofthenorthcreatedanempire,atitsheightbetween720and610bce,that

stretched as far west as Egypt. The state economy was now a predatory one, extracting labour and

tributeintheformoffood,animals,metalandcraftitemsfromavastsubjectpopulation.

ThegreatAssyriankings,whohadbeenimmigrants,acknowledgedthesouthernregion,Babylonia,asthe

centreofhighcultureandthelastofthem,Assurbanipal(668-627bce),collectedalibraryathiscapital,

Ninevehinthenorth.Hemadegreateffortstogathertabletsonhistory,epics,omenliterature,astrology,

hymnsandpoems.Hesenthisscribessouthtofindoldtablets.Becausescribesinthesouthweretrained

to read and write in schools where they all had to copy tablets by the dozen, there were towns in

Babylonia where huge collections of tablets were created and acquired fame. And although Sumerian

ceasedtobespokenafterabout1800bce,itcontinuedtobetaughtinschools,throughvocabularytexts,

signlists,bilingual(SumerianandAkkadian)tablets,etc.Soevenin650bce,cuneiformtabletswrittenas

farbackas2000bcewereintelligible–andAssurbanipal’smenknewwheretolookforearlytabletsor

theircopies.

Copies were made of important texts such as the Epic of Gilgamesh, the copier stating his name and

writingthedate.SometabletsendedwithareferencetoAssurbanipal:

‘I,Assurbanipal,kingoftheuniverse,kingofAssyria,onwhomthegodsbestowedvastintelligence,who

couldacquirethereconditedetailsofscholarlyerudition,Iwrotedownontabletsthewisdomofthegods

…AndIcheckedandcollatedthetablets.Iplacedthemforthefutureinthelibraryofthetempleofmy

god,Nabu, at Nineveh, for my lifeandthewell-being of mysoul, andtosustainthefoundations of my

royalthrone…’

Moreimportant,therewascataloguing:abasketoftabletswouldhaveaclaylabelthatread:‘nnumberof

tabletsaboutexorcism,writtenbyX’.Assurbanipal’slibraryhadatotalofsome1,000texts,amountingto

about30,000tablets,groupedaccordingtosubject.

And,anEarlyArchaeologist!

Amanofthesouthernmarshes,Nabopolassar,releasedBabyloniafromAssyriandominationin625bce.

HissuccessorsincreasedtheirterritoryandorganisedbuildingprojectsatBabylon.Fromthattime,even

after the Achaemenids of Iran conquered Babylon in 539 bce and until 331 bce when Alexander

conquered Babylon, Babylon was the premier city of the world, more than 850 hectares, with a triple

wall,greatpalacesandtemples,azigguratorsteppedtower,andaprocessionalwaytotheritualcentre.

Its trading houses had widespread dealings and its mathematicians and astronomers made some new

discoveries.

Nabonidus was thelast ruler of independent Babylon. He writes that the god of Ur cameto him in a

dreamandorderedhimtoappointapriestesstotakechargeofthecultinthatancienttowninthedeep

south.Hewrites:

‘BecauseforaverylongtimetheofficeofHighPriestesshadbeenforgotten,hercharacteristicfeatures

nowhereindicated,Ibethoughtmyselfdayafterday…’

Then,hesays,hefoundthesteleofaveryearlykingwhomwetodaydatetoabout1150bceandsawon

that stele the carved image of the Priestess. He observed the clothing and the jewellery that was

depicted.ThisishowhewasabletodresshisdaughterforherconsecrationasPriestess.

Onanotheroccasion,Nabonidus’smenbroughttohimabrokenstatueinscribedwiththenameofSargon,

king of Akkad. (We know today that the latter ruled around 2370 bce.) Nabonidus, and indeed many

intellectuals, had heard of this great king of remote times. Nabonidus felt he had to repair the statue.

‘Because of my reverence for the gods and respect for kingship,’ he writes, ‘I summoned skilled

craftsmen,andreplacedthehead.’

Activity4

WhydoyouthinkAssurbanipalandNaboniduscherishedearly

Mesopotamiantraditions?

Exercises

Answerinbrief

1. Why do we say that it was not natural fertility and high levels of food

productionthatwerethecausesofearlyurbanisation?

2. Which of the following were necessary conditions and which the causes, of

earlyurbanisation,andwhichwouldyousayweretheoutcomeofthegrowthof

cities:

(a) highly productive agriculture, (b) water transport, (c) the lack of metal and

stone, (d) the division of labour, (e) the use of seals, (f) the military power of

kingsthatmadelabourcompulsory?

3.Whyweremobileanimalherdersnotnecessarilyathreattotownlife?

4.Whywouldtheearlytemplehavebeenmuchlikeahouse?

Answerinashortessay

5. Of the new institutions that came into being once city life had begun, which

wouldhavedependedontheinitiativeoftheking?

6.WhatdoancientstoriestellusaboutthecivilisationofMesopotamia?